Dear Flower Valley Community,
Finally, the sun is shining! That was way too many days of indoor recess. :)
The week ahead is filled with excitement! Our book fair, which is sponsored by the PTA, starts this upcoming Friday, October 11th. We also have our PTA sponsored cultural assembly hosted by CANTARE this Friday. Thank you so much to all of our PTA members for your support of these events! And we can't forget the book walk that Ms. Callen organized for our students. It looks like an amazing experience! In Mr. Thornton's classes this week, I was able to see first-hand the fun and the learning that was conected to the book walk Ms. Callen has organzied. I hope your children have been able to tell you all about it. Additional details are below.
This week's newsletter contains important information about our upcoming Community Conversation and our annual Harvest Festival. We will contonue to provide updates in the coming weeks about both of these events.
Have a wonderful weekend and soak up as much sun as possible!
With Firefly Pride!
Dr. Fish
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National Walk or Bike to School Day: October 9th
Italian-American Heritage Month
FVES Book Walk
Community Conversation - Save the Date! October 22nd at 6:00PM
FVES Book Fair: October 11th-17th
Harvest Festival: November 1st
PTA Corner
MCPS 25-26 Calendar Survey for Parents
In Our last Newsletter...
- MCPS Personal Body Safety Lessons
- After School Activities
- Interested in Volunteering at FVES?
Save the Date: Calendar of FVES and PTA Events
Parent Handbook
National Walk and Roll to School Day is Wednesday, October 9, 2024. We encourage students, families, and staff to walk and/or bike to school (if feasible) to commemorate this very healthy and safe alternative to traveling to school. More information is available at the following website: https://www.walkbiketoschool.org/.
Italian-American Heritage Month is celebrated in October to honor the contributions of Italian immigrants and their descendants to the United States, and to recognize their cultural impact:
When it started: The month was first celebrated in 1989, when President George H. W. Bush and Congress issued a proclamation.
What it celebrates: Italian-American Heritage Month celebrates the achievements of Italian immigrants and their descendants in the arts, science, and culture. It also aims to educate the public about Italian-American history and culture.
How it's celebrated: Celebrations include festivals, parades, and educational events. The largest parade takes place in New York City.
Why it's important: Italian immigrants helped build roads, dams, tunnels, and other infrastructure, and provided labor for American factories and mines. Their work helped them establish an economic foothold in American society.
What we will be doing to educate and inform Flower Valley students about Italian-Americans: We will be talking about Italy’s geography, famous artists, explorers, and fashion designers. We will be talking about famous places, festivals, foods, animals, and sports. Finally, we will culminate the month with fun facts about Italy and its people.
Our first Community Conversation of the year will be held October 22nd from 6:00-7:30PM at FVES. We would love to have as many members of our community present as possible. Our focus for the evening will include the following:
- Engage in community building
- Learn about strategies to empower families to support conversations related to recognizing and celebrating our differences
- Focus on how we can come together as a community to value and celebrate the assets of the diversity of our Flower Valley community
We will send out an RSVP closer to the date to help us best prepare the space. We look forward to seeing you there!
We are so excited for the PTA to host the Scholastic Book Fair again this fall! The fair runs Friday, October 11th to Thursday October 17th. Students will have the opportunity to create a wish list on Friday or Monday to bring home for you to consider. Students may purchase books on their buying days (Tuesday through Thursday) by either cash, check made out to Flower Valley PTA, or an eWallet. See this link to set up an eWallet: https://www.scholastic.com/bf/flowervalleyelementarysch
Volunteers are always needed and it’s a lot of fun! Use this link to sign up: Volunteer Sign Up: https://bit.ly/VolFVESBookFair
Questions? Ask the Book Fair Ladies! Winona (twlennon@verizon.net) or Tina (tipsytina@gmail.com)
Book Fair dates: Friday October 11th – Thursday October 17th
Student only Shopping hours: Friday 9:00am-3:00pm and Monday – Thursday: 9:00am-3:30pm
Family Shopping hours: Monday – Thursday: 3:30-4:00pm and Thursday Evening during Math Night 6:00pm-8:00pm
Our annual Harvest Festival is right around the corner! Let’s get ready to have some fun, show our Firefly school pride, and help out our community! Our Fireflies will be collecting canned goods the week of October 28th-November 1st to help support those in need in our community. Students will also be preparing for our school spirit parade by decorating FVES themed harvest collection wagons (lunch carts) to show their school pride and to collect canned goods the day of the parade. Students are encouraged to show their school pride by wearing our school colors, spirit wear, flowers, and/or fireflies. We are looking forward to providing an opportunity for our students to enjoy time celebrating with one another, show their school spirit, and support our community. See the schedule below.
- Date: November 1st
Mini Field Day Fun with Mr. Taubman (Various Times during the Day)
Parade Time: 2-2:30
Party Time: 2:30-3:10
In the coming days, your child’s homeroom teacher will be reaching out for donations of food, party crafts and supplies, paper products, and school spirit float decorations - all of the blue, yellow, firefly, and flower decorations you can make or donate. Students will be using their class lunch carts as their harvest collection wagons. Items will be collected as an entire grade level and will be evenly distributed amongst all homerooms. We appreciate any donations you are able to provide.
We welcome volunteers for the party and the field day activities. Sign-up sheets will be coming out soon from the teachers and from Mr. Taubman. We also welcome everyone to cheer on our students at the FVES Harvest Parade! The path for the parade is below.
Please remember that Halloween costumes are not allowed in school; however, students are encouraged to wear school colors and really do it up with school spirit for our Harvest Festival!
Parade Route:
Parents can stand along the route to take pictures. Please do not stop your child on the parade route.
If it rains, we will have the parade inside for the children.
After the parade, students will return to their classrooms for their fall harvest parties.
Students will be dismissed for the day at the normal time.
If you would like your child to participate in an alternative activity instead of the parade, please email your child’s teacher. After the parade, all children will join their classmates for the Fall Harvest Party.
We are looking forward to a fabulous harvest celebration!
-Wednesday, October 9th is Dine and Support at Five Guys in Olney. Come enjoy some delicious food and have some of the proceeds go back to the PTA. Don’t forget to mention FVES PTA when ordering!
-Show your FVES pride by purchasing some spirit wear. All orders MUST be placed by Friday, October 11th; orders are unable to be accepted after this date. Spirit wear will be delivered to your child’s backpack in early November. Check out this year’s styles and place your order at https://bit.ly/FVSpiritWear. Contact Tamara at tamarapmoore@gmail.com with any questions.
-Our PTA Meeting has moved to Tuesday, October 15th in the APR from 6:30pm-8:00 pm will have childcare AND dinner provided! ALL parents are welcome! (Non-members and members). Please RSVP here as soon as possible: https://forms.gle/uhySyRtiJGrVskTT7 We'll have an opportunity for parents to chat and meet by grade level, provide an overview of the new literacy curriculum, hear about PTA events and activities this year, and have a principal's update.
-Book Fair is coming and we need your help! The Book Fair runs Oct 11-17th. (NOTE, the fair begins on a FRIDAY this year, so SET UP is Thursday afternoon the 10th!) Please click the link to go to our Sign Up Genius and pick a slot or two to join us. FVES Fall 2024 Book Fair
Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) is taking an active role in the prevention of child abuse and neglect through early prevention and intervention education. During the first semester, our school counselor and classroom teachers will be presenting lessons on the topic of child abuse and neglect. The lessons are known as Personal Body Safety Lessons and their purpose is to help students to:
- Develop knowledge, decision making skills, and behaviors which promote safe living in the home, school, and community;
- Learn skills for self-protection and identifying child abuse and neglect;
- Learn skills for asking for help for self and others and practice reporting to a trusted adult; and
- Engage in positive and appropriate interactions with peers and adults.
If you have any questions or concerns about the topics that will be covered, please contact Mrs. Atanda, Ms. Bamberger, or your child’s classroom teacher.
For more information: MCPS PBSL Information .
After school activities have begun. These activities are managed by outside organizations, not Flower Valley. We want to make sure any of our students attending an after school activity transition safely at the end of the school day. If your child will be attending an after school activity which causes a change in their dismissal, please inform your child’s teacher and the front office staff. If you have questions about any of the after school activities, please contact the organization directly.
Parent and caregiver volunteers support the overall success of Flower Valley. We welcome volunteers and are truly grateful for the ways you support our school each and every day. Some volunteer opportunities include serving as a mystery reader in class, sharing information about your career or hobby via a class presentation or visit, supporting lunch and recess, chaperoning field trips, supporting in-school events, and so much more!
If you are interested in serving as a volunteer, please see the information below and contact Mrs. Atanda at Jennifer_T_Atanda@mcpsmd.org. Volunteer clearance lasts for 3 years. Many volunteers who completed the training upon returning to in person learning three years ago need to complete the training again.
PTA Sponsored Book Fair: October 11th-17th, during School Hours
Math Night: October 17th, 6-7:30PM
Wellness Weeks: Week of October 21st
FVES Community Conversation - Tentative Date: October 22nd, 6-7:30PM
PTA Sponsored Masquerade Festival: October 26th, 5:30-7:30PM
Fall Festival and Parade: November 1st
Picture Retakes: November 8th
Fall Open House: November 11th (More details to come soon :))
PTA Sponsored Fun Run/Walk: November 17th; 3:00PM
PTA Sponsored Game Night; January 25th; 6:30-8:30PM
Winter IM Concert: January 27th, 7:00PM
Winter Chorus Concert: February 5th at 6:30PM
Kindness Week and Party: Week of February 10th (party 2/14)
Yearbook Groups and Candid Pictures: February 19th
PTA Sponsored STEM Night: February 20th, 6:30-8:30PM
Spring Book Fair: March 3rd-7th
Read Across America Week: Week of March 3rd
Reading Night: March 6th, 6-7:30PM
PTA Sponsored Staff vs. Parents Basketball Game and Silent Auction at RHS: March 15th, 4:00-6:00PM
STEM Day: March 21st
PTA Sponsored Mulch Drive (Ends April 5th)
Career Day: April 11th
Spring Individual and Class Pictures: April 28th
International Night: April 28th, 6:00-8:30PM
Field Days: May TBD
PTA Sponsored SAVERS Donation Drive: May 3rd, 9:30-1:00PM
PTA Sponsored Carnival: May 18th, 2-5:00PM
Spring IM Concert: May 19th, 7:00PM
5th Grade Promotion: June 12th (Students arrive at 5:00; program begins at 5:30PM.)
5th Grade Fun Day: June 13th
Flower Valley Elementary School
Be bright! Be kind! Be you!
We inspire all children to become critical thinkers who are imaginative, adaptable, and collaborative. We strive to cultivate peaceful, life-long learners who contribute positively to the community around them.
Email: Angie_L_Fish@mcpsmd.org
Website: https://www2.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/schools/flowervalleyes/
Location: Flower Valley Elementary School, Sunflower Drive, Rockville, MD, USA
Phone: 240-740-1780
Twitter: @AngieFish_FVES